"Disgusting" food

Animord

I was just reading the "its all in the cooking" thread with the calf's brain recipe.

Why are people so horrified by certain bits of the animal? (This is not a go at anyone, honest) I really would like to understand this. It seems to me that there is no difference at all between eating the meat of any animal and eating its brain or liver or whatever and I really don't understand why people get so upset at the thought of it.

Actually the thought that some of the animal goes to waste because people are picky would upset me far more than eating its brain or its eyes.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I'm horrified at the thoughts of having to remove blood clots from something that's going to be my dinner.

Eels.
Lobster spawn.
An ox tongue.

Boiling lobsters/crabs alive

I'm very squeamish and would rather just eat rice and pasta for the rest of my days rather than think about stuff like that

dee_mc

For me, there would be two issues: the first is the 'ick factor' of eating the eyes or brain etc, it just makes me squeamish. I would not even try these foods, to me it would be on a par with the 'bush tucker trial' things they do on I'm a Celebrity TV show.
The second is a texture issue - I dislike the texture/mouth-feel (and often the strong flavour, but this would be more easily overcome for me) of offal; I have tried several types and probably will try others but I wouldn't expect to like them.

lorrieq

Texture is so crucial here. I won't eat certain cheeses etc. simply because the texture makes me retch.

Alun

I've no problems with eating pretty much anything to be honest, as that was the way I was brought up in the 60's / 70's. You either ate everything on your plate or went hungry, so liver, kidneys, tripe etc. is no bother to me. I think the only thing I'd possibly draw the line at is eyes

Animord

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I'm horrified at the thoughts of having to remove blood clots from something that's going to be my dinner.

Eels.
Lobster spawn.
An ox tongue.

Boiling lobsters/crabs alive

I'm very squeamish and would rather just eat rice and pasta for the rest of my days rather than think about stuff like that

Eels are lovely - I have had smoked eel from Frank Hederman in Cork and it is not like you'd imagine - it is exactly like fish. Maybe meatier, but definitely fish.

Ox tongue, I was brought up on, my brother and I used to fight over the tip of the tongue (because it went up the cow's nose and that used to make us fall about with laughter)

I have never had Lobster spawn, but what is the difference between caviar and lobster spawn, or indeed any species' eggs?

lorrieq wrote: »

Texture is so crucial here. I won't eat certain cheeses etc. simply because the texture makes me retch.

that is fair enough. But I like to suck blue cheese until you just have the mould left, so maybe I am not right.

Alun wrote: »

I've no problems with eating pretty much anything to be honest, as that was the way I was brought up in the 60's / 70's. You either ate everything on your plate or went hungry, so liver, kidneys, tripe etc. is no bother to me. I think the only thing I'd possibly draw the line at is eyes

I might have just put eyes in for fun :P though I do know someone who was offered sheep eyes at an arab dinner and said they were fine actually.

Lovely Bloke

I've tried Kidneys in a decent restaurant and would never eat them again. Don't like liver either, but I'll eat liver paté.

It's not that it's offal, as I feckin love hearts (sorry).

I don't think I could eat Balut

Boskowski

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I'm horrified at the thoughts of having to remove blood clots from something that's going to be my dinner.

Eels.
Lobster spawn.
An ox tongue.

Boiling lobsters/crabs alive

I'm very squeamish and would rather just eat rice and pasta for the rest of my days rather than think about stuff like that

From what would you remove blood clots from the above list?!?

Eel is actually fantastic. Smoked its an absolute specialty and one of the nicest things fish there is. Fatty fish like salmon but fish nonetheless. I must assume you never actually had eel and just don't lie the look of it or something?

Nobody would eat an ox tongue like a blob of ox tongue on your plate. You'd find it in the cold meats section thinly sliced, like luncheon or or so. You'd eat it like a slice of ham on a bread roll and while it wouldn't be my favourite I can't see whats so disgusting about it. Its certainly nicer than luncheon and much higher quality meat too.

I think most of what we find 'disgusting' is based on our cultural background, based on what we're used to and what we know about.
I may be completely wrong about these two examples above, but I bet you never had eel or ox tongue and know nothing bout how its prepared, eaten and what it tastes like?
I bet you might come across either of those accidentally - eat it, like it and then be amazed to learn what it is cos it might look or taste not at all like you imagined it would.

MissFlitworth

I wish I wasn't squeamish but I completely & irrationally really am. I'm all for *other* people eating as much of the animal as possible but I just cannot do it myself. I have a vivid imagination so if I think of brains in something or blood clots etc. I'd have a very hard time eating it. Threw a chicken thigh in the bin last week because there was lots & lots of blood in the meat, go me. I know it's irrational but knowing that doesn't help my vomit-impulse kicking in. It's a combination of texture, smell and how much the item reminds me that it's part of an animal.

Animord

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I wish I wasn't squeamish but I completely & irrationally really am. I'm all for *other* people eating as much of the animal as possible but I just cannot do it myself. I have a vivid imagination so if I think of brains in something or blood clots etc. I'd have a very hard time eating it. Threw a chicken thigh in the bin last week because there was lots & lots of blood in the meat, go me. I know it's irrational but knowing that doesn't help my vomit-impulse kicking in. It's a combination of texture, smell and how much the item reminds me that it's part of an animal.

So does that mean you wont eat black pudding for instance?

pwurple

Eel is mighty stuff. Really delicious, also frank heddermans in cork smoked eel being a favourite in our house.

My list of 'disgusting' foods are just flavours I don't like. Banana and aniseed is about it.

Tongue and offal in general are alright by me. Don't like the idea of wasting any part of an animal that died for food. If something is killed for us I prefer to do it the respect of using it all, rather than chucking it in the bin.
Good book and interesting TED talk on the uses of a pig (book is PIG 05049) here
http://www.ted.com/talks/christien_meindertsma_on_pig_05049.html

dee_mc

Animord wrote: »

So does that mean you wont eat black pudding for instance?

I'm fine with black pudding but would be somewhat put off by 'visible' blood, I know it's silly but that's the way it goes!

Boskowski

See the funny things we wouldn't ever dream of eating anything that triggers repulsion in our head. But its completely irrational cos surely the most loved piece of food in Ireland is the pork sausage.
But the pork sausages we know of contain hardly any meat and are made of utter rubbish - the lowest of the low. Claws and beaks with gristle through a meat grinder stuff.
But we can't associate it with something repulsive so its lovely.

emeraldstar

Boskowski wrote: »

From what would you remove blood clots from the above list?!?

Not from the above list, but it was part of the recipe for preparing calf brains that was mentioned in the OP.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Boskowski wrote: »

From what would you remove blood clots from the above list?!?

Eel is actually fantastic. Smoked its an absolute specialty and one of the nicest things fish there is. Fatty fish like salmon but fish nonetheless. I must assume you never actually had eel and just don't lie the look of it or something?

Nobody would eat an ox tongue like a blob of ox tongue on your plate. You'd find it in the cold meats section thinly sliced, like luncheon or or so. You'd eat it like a slice of ham on a bread roll and while it wouldn't be my favourite I can't see whats so disgusting about it. Its certainly nicer than luncheon and much higher quality meat too.

I think most of what we find 'disgusting' is based on our cultural background, based on what we're used to and what we know about.
I may be completely wrong about these two examples above, but I bet you never had eel or ox tongue and know nothing bout how its prepared, eaten and what it tastes like?
I bet you might come across either of those accidentally - eat it, like it and then be amazed to learn what it is cos it might look or taste not at all like you imagined it would.

You're right I've never had either of those, ox tongue or eel. But even seeing a real life eel, alive and swimming about would send me out in a cold sweat. I am not a big meat eater. Would eat sausage meat, and chicken breast and that's about it. I'm not very adventurous at all.


And you have to pick blood clots out of calves brains. No joke if I was preparing that, I would be out cold on the kitchen floor, no two ways about it

MissFlitworth

Animord wrote: »

So does that mean you wont eat black pudding for instance?

Can juuuust about make myself eat it if I don't think about what it's made of. Haven't been able to eat white pudding since my dad gave me a vivid description of what goes in there. It is insane stuff, I can joint chickens, will happily eat animal skin of every variety but at a dinner recently where a relative served braised lamb hocks and then said 'Oh, if I was in any way a good host I would have offered you a bone cracker so you could suck the marrow out' :eek: and my appetite just died. Brains eh. Who'd have em (or eat em!)

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Boskowski wrote: »

See the funny things we wouldn't ever dream of eating anything that triggers repulsion in our head. But its completely irrational cos surely the most loved piece of food in Ireland is the pork sausage.
But the pork sausages we know of contain hardly any meat and are made of utter rubbish - the lowest of the low. Claws and beaks with gristle through a meat grinder stuff.
But we can't associate it with something repulsive so its lovely.

... Sorry what??

Beaks and claws?? In a sausage????
Is this true??

Boskowski

LexieOnRale wrote: »

... Sorry what??

Beaks and claws?? In a sausage????
Is this true??

Hyperbole sorry, I exaggerated to bring my point across. But whatever is in them would be in the same category for sure. Whatever can't be sold on its own and needs to be put through a grinder. You get the picture.

Animord

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Can juuuust about make myself eat it if I don't think about what it's made of. Haven't been able to eat white pudding since my dad gave me a vivid description of what goes in there. It is insane stuff, I can joint chickens, will happily eat animal skin of every variety but at a dinner recently where a relative served braised lamb hocks and then said 'Oh, if I was in any way a good host I would have offered you a bone cracker so you could suck the marrow out' :eek: and my appetite just died. Brains eh. Who'd have em (or eat em!)

lol.

I love marrow.

I still don't understand though why some people are horrified by the idea of something, personally, I will try ABSOLUTELY anything, even if it is only once, but if it is considered food, I will try it.

we used to live in Africa, Zimbabwe to be exact and there were something called Mopani worms, which we used to eat, roasted with locusts and mealie meal (corn). lol

So I suppose it is just what you are brought up with. brains seem ever so tame after that.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Oh good lord I can't look at the thread anymore. Worms! :eek: ye are all
much braver people than I. Thoughts of that would be enough to put me off noodles even, worm shaped food, bleh. Fair play to anyone who is that adventurous however, I think I've seen enough ahh

goz83

Brains I would try. Eye-ball....No I will leave alone. I just couldn't bare the thought of it bursting and oozing eye juice in my mouth. I would probably try the testes of an animal if pushed, but not the penis, anus, or any part of the bowels. Nothing else I can think of that I wouldn't at least try....and I am a fussy eater, brought up on processed food, meat and spuds. I just had chicken kievs now.

Ponster

Very good TED talk on eating insects and why the western world doesn't do so.

I've only had eel on sushi (and is the most wonderful thing in the world to eat) and I've had chocolate ants before but they just tasted of chocolate.

Animord

goz83 wrote: »

Brains I would try. Eye-ball....No I will leave alone. I just couldn't bare the thought of it bursting and oozing eye juice in my mouth. I would probably try the testes of an animal if pushed, but not the penis, anus, or any part of the bowels. Nothing else I can think of that I wouldn't at least try....and I am a fussy eater, brought up on processed food, meat and spuds. I just had chicken kievs now.

I must say that anuses (? is that the plural?) seems reasonable to me because, well, just because.

But I bet they make an appearance in chicken nuggets and stuff like that. Cleaned, though obviously. :pac:

lisatu

Ive eaten barbequed goats testicles from a freshly slaughtered kid goat, slaughtered right outside my bedroom window and a kid id been petting the day before .

It tasted like meat but the texture was like a mushy marshmallow. If id known what it was I would not have eated it but it was on a plate my father in law had handed me and I presumed it was all just chunks of meat. The poor man thought he was being really good as it was my first time visiting their country so he got the best bits for me before anyone else got there hands on them.

My husband would eat any part of an animal except the eyes id say. His aunt ate a fish eye in front of me once and turned me off my food.

The Hill Billy

I ate brains as a child & while I can't remember much about the experience I would eat them again if they came from a trusted source. The only part of the beast (cow or bull) I haven't eaten are the eyeballs, but that is only through lack of opportunity.

Like Alun - I was reared to eat what was put in front of me & coming from a butchery family - there were lots of weird & wonderful things I was given to eat. I continue to do so to this day. My boys regularly have kidney, liver & marrow bones & are well into it.

Each to their own, but don't knock it until you've tried it.

Whistlejacket

"Disgusting food" to me is processed sugar and salt laden god-knows-what with a ten year expiry date and 30 unintelligible ingredients/chemicals listed on the label!

kev1.3s

Disgusting food to me is any of the processed food especially mechanically reclaimed that you can find in any supermarket, I'm also not a fan of the texture of fat.

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Mrs Fox

Animord wrote: »

I must say that anuses (? is that the plural?) seems reasonable to me because, well, just because.

But I bet they make an appearance in chicken nuggets and stuff like that. Cleaned, though obviously. :pac:

I've had chuck anus satay. Tasted amazing.

Animord

I might offer to do calves brains for Cooking club for the laugh!

goz83

Animord wrote: »

I must say that anuses (? is that the plural?) seems reasonable to me because, well, just because.

But I bet they make an appearance in chicken nuggets and stuff like that. Cleaned, though obviously. :pac:

I'm afraid that anus eating, in my mind, belongs in seedy porn and not on my dinner plate. :P

goz83

Mrs Fox wrote: »

I've had chuck anus satay. Tasted amazing.

So you had anus, with nut sauce? :pac:

Faith

You've definitely eaten some disgusting things if you've eaten poor quality sausages! Arseholes and eyeballs was what I was always told.

I eat things when I don't know what's in them/what they are. Certain things trigger a real mental block though, and I literally can't swallow them (things like stomach, kidneys, etc).

username123

Generally speaking I dont like "organs" (kidney, liver etc...) - its not really anything to do with the taste, its certainly nothing to do with the part of the animal, its just the texture I think - and possibly because we used to be subjected to horrible processed steak/kidney pie in a tin as kids!

Ive eaten insects in africa, and I wouldnt be squeamish about any parts of an animal to try. Im not really a huge meat lover though, I eat chicken, turkey and the very odd bit of beef. I just find most meat a bit heavy on the stomach - nothing to do with squeamishness.

Dizzyblonde

I can't abide the texture of liver or kidney, it makes me gag.

pampootie

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I can't abide the texture of liver or kidney, it makes me gag.

Me either, the texture of kidney particularly. I love pate and my OH has made it a mission to get me to like liver. I quite like the flavour but can't get past that texture

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Mr Magnolia

If it didn't look or smell absolutely revolting I'd try it, after that it's about texture and taste alone for me. I've yet to be presented with something I couldn't appreciate in one way or another though I've yet to encounter some of the more far fetched dishes such as balut or even Hákarl.

The thought of eating anus holds absolutely zero appeal it's only on the beast for one reason as far as I'm concerned.

Animord

There is, or was, a restaurant on Radnor Walk in London called Ziani (?) and they do liver that I promise you, would change how you feel about it forever. It was, I think, fried for a mini-second in butter and served with polenta and was the best liver I have ever eaten. Melt in the mouth, oh, just delicious. I don't know how to describe it.

And I am not even going to try. I shall pour another glass of wine and dream about it.

:P

Happy New Year Cooking Boardsies. xxx

username123

I had haggis in a little rural pub off the beaten track in the Scottish highlands and I still dream about it. Yummy.

Cedrus

I used to think I'd eat anything, before I moved to china, but it was mostly a smell thing (they tend to like strong 'fermented' smells) as well as a totally different attitude to food hygiene (if it's not freshly slaughtered they won't touch it compared to our supermarket supply chains so we HAVE to cook it differently).

Fish eyeballs are quite nice and nutty but so small you have to concentrate to taste them, never had a larger animals one. I've tried most offal and while liver is my favourite, the taste of sweetbreads is divine (but the texture is vile), I've never enjoyed kidneys since a workmate noted that they smelt like piss when frying them. We were brought up on tripe at least once a fortnight, I never liked the texture but devoured the gravy it made. Smell and texture are definitely offals biggest enemies, also most of them are major gout triggers for me now.

Frank Hedermans eels are lovely (a bit bony) but the japanese Unagi is the golden prize to go for.

A buddy working with one of the co-ops regularly ships pigs anus' out to china, by up to 6 tonne per fortnight. Hard working muscle is always the tastiest and apart from the jaws no muscle works harder . Never knowingly tried it myself.

Minder

Most western offal holds no fear for me. Love kidney, good quality liver, black pudding, tripe, sweetbreads. Have yet to try brains. I don't appreciate The Chinese penchant for cooking specific parts of the pig that would usually go to the dog food factory. But if presented with a plate of stir fried fallopian tubes, I would still have to try it. Several posters have already made the point about mass produced long life foods. I'd sooner eat a strange plate of animal tubes if it was carefully prepared and made with fresh ingredients, rather then eat a tin of Campbell's meat balls.

Animord

I once gave my dog a tin of some kind of beef stew. This was a dog that had been abandoned and come close to starving to death and so would eat pretty much anything.

I don't know, obviously, what she though it was, but she didn't consider it food and wouldn't touch it. She wouldn't touch bisto either.

I assume it just didn't smell like meat to her...

goz83

My dogs would have had that stew gone in seconds. They eat EVERYTHING. They even eat the leaves off of tomatoes!!! They too were rescued, so I know what you mean.

As for the campbells meatballs mentioned above....I used to love those things. Delish!!! But I wouldn't bother with them anymore. At times, we all eat ****e (literally) without knowing about it, no matter how careful we try to be. Every single fart releases poo particles into the air we breathe and lands on the food we eat. If we thought about this too much, we would just starve to death.

irishproduce

Garlic chips and cheese!

rubadub

Animord wrote: »

Why are people so horrified by certain bits of the animal?

I think one big factor is being able to visualise the parts on a human and so are comparing them. So eyes, tounge, brain, kidneys. While if you hear "sirloin steak" most people would not think of an equivalent area on a human, if there is one.

There is texture too, I would not fancy biting into an eyeball which I suspect might burst open, if it was liquidised in sausages I would try it.

There is also the function of the parts, so people might be put off by kidneys & liver, like some are put off some fish or other animals that they consider to eat nasty things.

There is a good wiki page on taboo food
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_food

Pang

I can't deal with the texture of kidneys or oysters. I can't eat them at all. It's as if I have a gag reflex.

Even the thoughts of oysters right now is making me want to gag.

Someone gave me one of those chocolate crickets or some sort of insect one day and I couldn't eat it. I think once I heard the almighty crunch coming from the other person's mouth that totally turned me off.

Animord

That page is almost entirely religious based and not to do with the revulsion like Pang talks about above, which is what interests me.

Oysters were once a very common food - I presume if you are introduced to them whilst very young you might not suffer from such an extreme reaction.

They are also delicious, I CRAVE them sometimes. All that iodine-y sea ish yumminess. :pac: (sorry Pang)

I do like this bit though

Some Catholics urged Pope Clement VII (1478 – 1534) to ban coffee, calling it "devil's beverage". After tasting the beverage, the Pope is said to have remarked that the drink was "... so delicious that it would be a sin to let only misbelievers drink it." [86]

Dizzyblonde

Animord wrote: »

Oysters were once a very common food - I presume if you are introduced to them whilst very young you might not suffer from such an extreme reaction.

I think you're right. And apparently texture is even more important than taste when you're introducing young children to food. They need lots of different textures and tastes.

Animord

Yes, a better question might actually be - when it comes to the things you find the idea of revolting, did you ever get them as a child.

We need a poll! :pac:

Faith

I can answer that with one specific food - eggs. My mum went through a period of deciding I wasn't eating properly, so I'd come home from (primary) school and I'd be forced to drink a glass of milk and eat a boiled egg. I hated it, and it was a LONG long time before I started eating eggs voluntarily. Even now, I cannot eat egg whites, not even the smallest bits of it. I also hate milk.

So forcing children to eat foods does as much damage as never introducing them to them, in my experience!

Actually, the same goes for cauliflower and beans (of the non-baked variety). Black eyed beans still induce rage in me, with memories of being forced to eat them as a kid.